Whichever type of frozen yogurt you prefer, it’ll be a lot easier to indulge when a second location of Sweet Yo’s opens up in downtown Grand Rapids next to Rosa Parks Circle on Monroe Center NW later this month.

The new location will be the second local Sweet Yo’s to open this year after owners Rosa, Mario and Lidia Piccione opened their first self-serve frozen yogurt storefront in the East Grand Rapids Gaslight Village on July 7.

Sweet Yo’s is the first in Grand Rapids to offer the self-serve frozen yogurt format, where customers are charged based on the weight of their purchase.

“It was all perfect timing,” said Rosa Piccione, who owns the business with her brother and sister-in-law. Piccionne is also owner of Rosa’s Closet, an upscale resale boutique in the Gaslight Village, and part owner of Lia Rose Boutique in downtown Grand Rapids.

Sweet Yo’s will open (fingers crossed) about Sept. 15, just before ArtPrize, at 134 Monroe Center NW in the former downtown Pita House, which closed in May.

The roughly 1,800 square-foot space, owned by Rick Langerak of Belmont, was eyed for a downtown dental office in July, but those plans were blocked by the Grand Rapids Planning Commission in July on recommendation from the Downtown Development Authority, which felt a retail tenant with later hours was better suited for the location.

The city just last fall tweaked its zoning code to prohibit ground-floor offices on Monroe Center and parts of South Division Avenue without a permit.

Piccione said the family signed a seven-year lease with Langerak downtown.

“This happened fairly quickly when that fell through,” said Piccione. “We found out about the location and moved pretty fast.”

She and her brother, Mario, grew up in the service industry. Their parents own Lia’s Pizza in Kentwood. The siblings, with Mario’s wife, Lidia, saw the self-serve frozen yogurt concept in Florida and California and recognized the niche was going unfilled in Grand Rapids.

With self-serve, customers can build their own fro-yo creation with a choice of toppings and syrups, and are charged 49 cents per ounce for the total weight of purchase. Sweet Yo’s markets their product as a vegan-friendly, healthier alternative to ice cream based on it’s lack of dairy, gluten and fat.

The Piccione’s located their first location in East Grand Rapids based on the walkability of the Gaslight Village, Rosa said. Downtown offers the same dynamic, she said. Plus, it’s on the upswing.

Sweet Yo’s will locate just a couple doors down from another shop selling frozen sweets. A Kilwin’s chocolate and ice cream shop opened this year in the base of McKay Tower. However, Piccione said she's hoping Kiliwin’s can be “friendly” competition.

“I think people will go to both places,” she said. “We each have our little niche. They have a great thing going with all of their different options.”

“I think we can feed off one another.”

The family hopes to have Sweet Yo’s ready for ArtPrize, which runs Sept. 19 to Oct. 7. Despite opening after the summer season, Piccione is positive on the prospects for fall and winter sales.

“People eat ice cream all year 'round,” she said.

More information on Sweet Yo’s is available on their website and Facebook page.